CBS posts higher; News Corp. falls short

According to MarketWatch.com, CBS Corp. reported late Thursday its second-quarter net profit slipped to $439 million, or 76 cents a share, from $472 million, or 76 cents a share, a year ago. Adjusted to exclude one-time items, its profit rose to 78 cents a share from 75 cents a year ago. Sales for the three months ended June 30 fell to $3.19 billion from $3.37 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected the media company to report earnings of 71 cents a share on $3.24 billion in sales. The company said it is lifting its quarterly dividend to 15 cents a share from 12 cents, payable Oct. 1, and raising its share repurchase plan to $6 billion from $3 billion. CBS shares fell as much as 0.9% to $56.40 in after-hours trade. 4:29 p.m. Aug. 7, 2014.

Meanwhile, News Corp. said Thursday that fourth-quarter net income was $12 million, or 2 cents a share. A year ago, the company lost $1.12 billion, or $1.94 a share. Revenue for the media giant was $2.19 billion against last year’s $2.26 billion. Adjusted earnings of 1 cent a share fell short of forecasts from analysts polled by FactSet, who expected adjusted earnings of 3 cents a share on sales of $2.17 billion. 4:16 p.m. Aug. 7, 2014.